Estate Planning

OBA Trusts and Estates Section Year End Dinner

Posted on June 09, 2008
The Ontario Bar Association (OBA), Trusts and Estates Section, year end dinner was held on May 27, 2007 at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto.  Jordan Atin, the Chair of the Section for the past year, brought the past year to a close and the election of the OBA, Trusts and Estates Section Executive for the 2007/2008 year, was confirmed...

10th Annual Conference of Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners

Posted on June 06, 2008
The annual conference of Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners is upon us.  Yesterday’s full day of interesting talks was capped off with a tenth anniversary gala dinner at The Royal York.  It was great to see a full house of estate, trust, accounting and tax practitioners decked out in their finest to enjoy an evening wither their peers, and honouring the lifetime achievements of Professor Emeritus Donovan Waters...

Hull & Hull LLP Estate, Trust and Capacity Law Breakfast Series

Posted on June 05, 2008
Yesterday, Hull & Hull LLP hosted one of its informative Breakfast Series. David Smith started off the seminar with a talk on the challenge of exercising an estate’s controlling interest in private corporations.  His discussion included the following observations:-                   the obligation of an estate trustee to exercise his or her controlling interest is that of a “reasonably prudent businessman”-                   the trustee must determine the value of the company in as timely a manner as possible-                   depending on the wording of the Will, the trustee must provide for the company’s continuation, sale or liquidation -                   in order for the trustee to make such a decision he/she should review the Will, financial statements and corporate records, and should inquire with individuals who have knowledge of the company’s affairs including beneficiaries, family, directors, shareholders, employees, solicitors, accountants and bankers-                   it is advisable for a trustee to have an active role in management by, among other things, sitting on the board of directors (despite there being no legal obligation to do so)Sean Graham followed with a discussion on evidence in estate litigation, and Ian Hull spoke about interesting case law developments...

Waiver of the Solicitor and Client Privilege

Posted on June 04, 2008
In Schwartz Estate v. Kwinter the divorce of the mother and father in 1996 divided the family, with one daughter, Elaine, siding with the father and the other daughter, Shelley, siding with the mother.  The father then made new Wills giving everything to Elaine, and the mother likewise made new Wills giving everything to Shelley...

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Capital Disbursement - Hull on Esate and Succession Planning #115

Posted on June 03, 2008
Listen to Capital DisbursementThis week on Hull on Estate and Succession Planning, Ian and Suzana follow up with their discussion on passing accounts. They focus on obstacles that often get in the way of smooth transactions particularly capital disbursement and encroaching on captial...

Accounting Under the Powers of Attorney - Hull on Estates #113

Posted on June 03, 2008
Listen to Accounting Under the Powers of Attorney This week on Hull on Estates, Diane and Ian discuss accounting under the powers or attorney, the duty to account after the guarantor has passed away and the De Zorzi Estate v. Read case (2008, O.J. No...

Summary Trial

Posted on June 03, 2008
In a recent edition of the OBA Estates and Trusts Section newsletter, Deadbeat, Justin de Vries wrote an article commenting on the summary trial and how it can be a way to curb the costs of estate litigation (in claims of $50,000 or less).  This article is worth a read, and I thought in today's blog I would add my voice to his chorus...

Support Contracts and Second Marriages

Posted on June 02, 2008
Soulsbury v. Soulsbury is an interesting appeal from a decision of the Central London County Court about a contract dispute involving a divorced couple. The couple had been married for 20 years, and after the breakdown of their marriage the ex-husband was ordered to make periodic payments to the ex-wife...

Battle Over Mountie's Remains Likely to Continue

Posted on May 30, 2008
The Alberta Court of Appeal recently released its decision in Johnston v. Alberta (Director of Vital Statistics), a case I had been following about the burial of a deceased RCMP officer who had been killed in the line of duty.  The mountie, who was killed along with three other officers in 2005, was buried in his home town in Alberta...

Law Society Establishes New Client Identification and Verification Requirements

Posted on May 29, 2008
Recently, convocation at the Law Society of Upper Canada approved an amendment to By-Law 7.1 [Operational Obligations and Responsibilities] that has the effect of establishing stricter guidelines with respect to client identification and verification...

To Whom Does an Attorney Have a Duty to Account?

Posted on May 28, 2008
An interesting decision was recently released relating to an attorney’s obligation to account to people other than the estate trustee of a (deceased) grantor’s estate.  In Guerin v. Read, the deceased died in December 2004.  The residual beneficiaries of her estate sought an order requiring the estate trustee to provide disclosure of the deceased’s financial documents from January 2004 to the deceased’s death or, in the alternative, that the estate trustee pass accounts for the period in which she acted as the deceased’s attorney for property; that is, September 2004 to the deceased’s death...

Reminder About our June 4 Breakfast Seminar!

Posted on May 27, 2008
Just a reminder that our next breakfast series seminar is being held on June 4, 2008.  It is being held at the Ontario Bar Association at 20 Toronto Street.  There will be presentations on the following topics: "Recent Case Law Developments that Impact an Estate Solicitor's Practice" - by Ian M...

Keeping Good Records - Hull on Estate and Succession Planning Podcast #114

Posted on May 27, 2008
Listen to Keeping Good Records This week on Hull on Estate and Succession Planning, Ian and Suzana talk about the importance of keeping good records in order to account for your conduct financially. Comments? Send us an email at hullandhull@gmail.com, call us on the comment line at 206-457-1985, or leave us a comment on the Hull on Estate and Succession Planning blog.

Lost Wills - Hull on Estates Podcast #112

Posted on May 27, 2008
Listen to Lost Wills This week on Hull on Estates, Paul Trudelle and Megan Connolly talk about the issues surrounding lost wills. Comments? Send us an email at hull.lawyers@gmail.com or leave us a message on our comment line at 206-350-6636. You can also leave a comment on our blog at estatelaw...

Competing Claims to a Family Cottage

Posted on May 26, 2008
The 2008 decision in Sheldrake v. Sheldrake provides yet another example of the ways that relatives can fight over a family cottage.  In this case, the plaintiff, who was the defendant’s son, brought a claim seeking declarations that he had a beneficial interest in two family cottages to which the defendant held title and that the two cottages were held in trust for the plaintiff’s benefit...

Lost. Found. Loaned?

Posted on May 23, 2008
"To visit Machupijchu, you must prepare the soul, sharpen the sense.  Forget for some minutes, the small and transcendental problems of our lives, of modern man..."   Napoleon Polo, Cuzco Peru. In 1911, Yale history professor Hiram Bingham III stumbled upon Machu Picchu, 'the lost city of the Incas' (click here for an incredible virtual tour)...

A Good Rule of Thumb

Posted on May 22, 2008
What he doth, he doth by rule of thumb, and not by art.             Sir William Hope.  Page 157 of The Compleat Fencing-Master, 1692And therein lies the earliest known citation of the phrase 'rule of thumb', defined by Wikipedia as a 'principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate for every situation'...

Specialization and Client Service

Posted on May 21, 2008
Law firms, such as ours, tend to emphasize the benefits to clients of their respective area of specialization. The common pitch to prospective clients is that there is less of a learning curve on each file and, as a general proposition, most problems have usually (with some variation) been seen before...

Missing and Presumed Dead?...or Just Absent?

Posted on May 20, 2008
The issue of when a missing person will be deemed to be deceased was most recently (and prominently) in the news during the search for Steve Fossett.  Notwithstanding the relatively short duration of time since his disappearance on September 3, 2007, circumstantial evidence suggested that, on a balance of probabilities, his death was a safe assumption and Fossett was declared legally dead on February 15 , 2008...

Evidence issues in estates when a main party is deceased - Hull on Estates #111

Posted on May 20, 2008
Listen to evidence issues in estates when a main party is deceased. This week on Hull on Estates, Rick and Sean discuss evidence issues in estate matters when a main party is deceased. They reference "Burns Estate and Mellon"; a 2000 Court of Appeal Case cited in 34 Estates and Trusts Reports, 2nd Edition, p...

The Formal Passing of Accounts - Hull on Estate and Succession Planning Podcast #113

Posted on May 20, 2008
Listen to The Formal Passing of Accounts. This week on Hull on Estate and Succession Planning, Ian and Suzana talk about the specifics of what happens when you have to go to court to formally pass accounts. Comments? Send us and email at hullandhull@gmail...

Eco-Funerals - Green to the Grave

Posted on May 16, 2008
We all know of ways to lead a greener life, but how about ways to go green after you leave the Earth?  Eco-friendly funerals have been steadily gaining momentum among those who wish to live, and die, in the most environmentally conscious way...

May We Suggest...

Posted on May 15, 2008
Hull & Hull's web page now features a new category for "Recommended Reading" under our "Links" page.  Check in often for updates that connect our readers to timely and informative reading materials in the estates area...

RESP Designations in Your Will

Posted on May 14, 2008
In recent months, I've seen more Wills than usual with provisions for RESP's.  Are there advantages to naming a successor to your RESP in your Will, and what are the risks associated with failing to do so?  For a background on the many advantages associated with RESP's and investing in your child's future, see here...

Retention of Women in Private Practice

Posted on May 13, 2008
The working group of the Law Society of Upper Canada's Convocation recently reported on the issue of retaining women in private practice.  The objective of the Report was not to identify the problem but rather to propose constructive and innovative solutions for the legal community...

Accounting - Hull on Estate and Succession Planning #112

Posted on May 13, 2008
Listen to Accounting This week on Hull on Estate and Succession Planning, Ian and Suzana discuss how to prepare for review by the beneficiaries of the estate by keeping all accounts in order. To open this week's show, they remind listeners that they did this week's episode of Hull on Estates (#110)...

Talking About Wealth and Personal Finance - Hull on Estates #110

Posted on May 13, 2008
Listen to Talking About Wealth and Personal Finance. This week on Hull on Estates Suzanna and Ian review the pullout in March 18th's New York Times and talk about the importance of dialog before and after death. Comments? Send us an email at hull.lawyers@gmail...

Let's "mesh"!

Posted on May 12, 2008
Canada's premier web conference is scheduled for May 21st and 22nd in Toronto, although tickets are almost sold out so act quickly if you're planning to attend.   Now in its 3rd hugely successful year, mesh aims to connect people with enthusiasm for the web - people who "want to know more about how the web is changing the way we live, work, and interact with the world"...

Go Away And Don't Come Back!

Posted on May 09, 2008
"Some day, a wise person in a position of authority will realize that a court of law is not the best forum for deciding custody and access disputes, where principles of common sense masquerade as principles of law." - Mr. Justice Joseph Quinn as quoted in the Globe and Mail...

The Genesis of Trusts (?)

Posted on May 08, 2008
The contemporary attitude is that we live in a young country.  True in some respects.  Yet we own the oldest contiguous institutions.  Trusts are one aspect of this venerable inheritance: the trust is as old as the Common Law...

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